What IS the TYPICAL homoeopathic remedy?

Question

[Original comment by "SkepDoc": Your shark analogy misses the point. The dilutions of blood they can detect are many orders of magnitude more concentrated than a typical homeopathic remedy. Also...there are scientific studies that demonstrate their abilities beyond any doubt. It also fits well with in known physiology and laws of physics. After 200 years of trying, the same can't be said of homeopathy].

Question:

The homoeopathic remedies I did come across in Europe and Australia [some of them made by the big pharma] were in the strength of 6X to 7X for the basic problems. The one stronger than that was a flu remedy "Oscillococcinum" which is 200C. It got me out of trouble and if a placebo can stop a flu virus cold in its truck, than hurrah to the placebo.

So with the 6X (equal to 3C) which is 1:1.000.000 and 7X which is 1:10.000.000 the molecule of blood in the ocean 1:25.000.000 is a real concentrate…. Please tell me. What is the typical homoeopathic remedy? Or ask the shark?

Answer 1

honey, salt and lemon for sore throats!

honey and salt are antibacterial and lemon is to boost your immune system

Answer 2

A typical homeopathic remedy? Maybe..... Take one does of placebo twice a day.

Answer 3

I'm glad my comment at least got you thinking more about the subject.  There's precious little of that on this board.

Your math about the X concentrations looks correct.  Each X represents a 1:10 dilution.  So 7X represents 1 followed by 7 zeros.  

The C represents 1:100 dilution, so a 7C would be 1 part in 1 followed by 14 zeros.  Avogadros number (at which there is no mathematical possibility of there being a single molecule) is 1 followed by 23 zeros.

Homeopaths do acknowledge the math (though Avogadro's number wasn't discovered in Hahnemans time) They claim of course that the water magically remembers the molecule through their process of succession (magical shaking)  What has never been proven is the basic concept of "like cures like" in the first place.  And they can't explain why water doesn't remember all the other things it comes in contact with except for the magical (unproven) concept of succession.  The big test of course is---DOES IT WORK?---and the answer, time after time is it works no better than placebo for minor, self limiting illnessess or injuries, and not at all for major illnessess or injuries.

The fact that the "laws" (bwa ha ha) of homeopathy violate all the laws of physics, biochemistry and physiology that have been discovered in the 200 years since Hahneman doesn't seem to concern homeopaths.  Neither do they make an effort to replace those laws with new, evidence based ones.  They just believe in magic.   They also ignore the fact, that when they place that very pure drop of water on the sugar pills, it then evaporates, so the magic water is gone from the pill anyway.

Even though there may be detectable molecules at some of the more concentrated solutions....remember that dilute toxins have no known effect on the body.  For example, the allowable limit of Arsenic ( a deadly poison)  in our drinking water in 10 parts per billion..or equivalent to an 8X homeopathic dilution.  

Myth:

Sharks Can Detect a Single Drop of Blood in the Ocean

Sharks are often portrayed as having an almost supernatural sense of smell. However, reports that sharks can smell a single drop of blood in a vast ocean are greatly exaggerated. While some sharks can detect blood at one part per million, that hardly qualifies as the entire ocean. Sharks do, however, have an acute sense of smell and a sensitive olfactory system--much more so than humans. Sharks' nostrils are located on the underside of the snout, and unlike human nostrils, are used solely for smelling and not for breathing. They are lined with specialized cells that comprise the olfactory epithelium. Water flows into the nostrils and dissolved chemicals come into contact with tissue, exciting receptors in the cells. These signals are then transmitted to the brain and are interpreted as smells.

Because of the extreme sensitivity of these cells, as well as the fact that the olfactory bulb of the brain is enlarged, sharks can detect miniscule amounts of certain chemicals. This varies, of course, among different species of sharks and the chemical in question. The lemon shark can detect tuna oil at one part per 25 million--that's equivalent to about 10 drops in an average-sized home swimming pool. Other types of sharks can detect their prey at one part per 10 billion; that's one drop in an Olympic-sized swimming pool! Some sharks can detect these low concentrations of chemicals at prodigious distances--up to several hundred meters (the length of several football fields)—depending on a number of factors, particularly the speed and direction of the water current.

The sharks endless hunting pattern..swimming patterns back and forth increases their chances that they will detect that elusive blood cell.

Sharks also have the lateral line system which can detect minor electrical fields as well as subtle pressure waves from struggling or injury prey.  They don't rely on any one method.  They may in fact go days or weeks without feeding...the ocean is a pretty vast empty space.

EDIT:  I LOVE COOKIES.  I'm not a "close minded jerk". (nor do I resort to name calling when I don't have a rational argument)  It is important to keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out.

Answer 4

the idea of homeopathy is about 200 years old and comes from Europe and was first developed by Sir Samuel Hahnemann that claimed: similar cures similar (homeo)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy#...

but the idea of dilution is different:

it claims that the "energy" that a chemical has can be stored by the liquid it is diluted in, or the chemical structure is "remembered" in the configuration of the diluted liquid's molecules and now this "energy" can be delivered to a user that is able to "read" and "act" in conform to the initial chemical's properties.

if the chemical was a poison like Arsenic the body will respond with all its power to detoxify itself from the poison, however this chemical "Arsenic" was only the "image" of the real stuff and there for the detox chain triggered cleanses the body and there is no "real" chemical challenge and the poisoning is saved

this process then used for all other chemicals can become a non-challenge drug system for all diseases.

it works when you know what you are doing, it was tested by medical research:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy#...

Answer 5

This is a great question as I have wondered this myself. It seems that not all homeopathic remedies are diluted to the same levels. They never mention if the remedies that have not been diluted to a crazy level are any good.

My advice to you though, is if it works for you, then use it!

And even if it was a placebo, who cares? You get no side effects from placebos, and if you get better good, and if you don't, try something else. I'd say that is better then being given a pill from a doctor that could make you ill from the side effects, and that was probably "researched" by the drug company who produced the medication, and the doctors who the drug company paid off.

And I realize this doesn't matter, and it's only my opinion, but if SkepDoc is the same guy who I think he is, I can't stand him! What a close minded jerk. Bah!

Answer 6

I think what they are saying id that beyond 23C there is a great chance that there is not even 1 molecule of the original substance in the mix.  The "typical" homeopathic remedy is 24C and beyond..  

Correction:  I may be wrong..  I think it is 23X that there would be 1 molecule remaining whis is just under 12C..  Homeopathic flu medicine is 200C which is 400x..  Far greater diluion that I first described.  1 part substance to 10 followed br 400 zeros water..  Amazing

Answer 7

The typical homeopathic 'remedy' is magic water that a homeopathic shaman (or fraud, you choose) performed a ritual on, thereby infusing it with the ability to scam money from retards.

Answer 8

Dosing of homeopapathic remedies is the most difficult aspect of using them or treating with them.  With over 2,000 remedies and four or more "strengths" of the remedies it is not at all easy to master.

Generally you might use a 30C for an "acute" situation - like when you use Arnica for pain and swelling from bruising following an injury or Apis for an insect bite.

When you get into your "simillium" a homeopath may start you off with a 200C - with follow-up for its effect on you and to see if you get a relief of your symptoms.  Your professional may then move you to a 1M, then a 10M of even an LM - always closely monitoring for its effect on you and how your symptoms are alleviated, etc.

So the homeopath may switch you to another remedy entirely and start again with a 200C dosage.

One of the most important principles in using any homeopathic remedy is the follow-up and monitoring.  So there is no "typical" dosage.

If you are purchasing your remedies yourself without professional monitoring it is very important to monitor yourself.  Take a remedy for two to three days - if you get relief, stop and see what develops for you.  Do not take a homeopathic remedy "mechanistically" - like you do aspirin or a prescription from a regular MD>